Automatic machine for chamferring wire rod ends

ABSTRACT

A machine for automatically chamferring the ends of pieces of wire, particularly the wire which is used in making such articles, for example, as wire dishracks for use in dish washing machines, etc. The machine is operated by pressurized fluid such as air. It employs a piston actuated pusher which feeds pieces of substantially straight wire, one-at-a-time, into position where it is coaxial with a pair of spaced apart bits carried by conventional air motors which are reciprocated back and forth to chamfer the wire ends. Valve means actuated by pulsators and also by the reciprocating pusher and air motors carry out the sequence of moving the wire into position, chamferring and releasing the wire and then repeating the operation.

United States Patent [72] Inventor John E. Hopkins 76 Gracefield Avenue, Toronto 389, Ontario, Canada [2|] Appl. No. 833,409 [22] Filed June 16, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 10, I97! [54] AUTOMATIC MACHINE FOR CHAMFERRING WIRE ROD ENDS 2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 82/17 [SI] lnLCL B23b 13/10 [50] FieldolSeareh 82/2.7, 2.5; 144/30 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l,84l,988 l/l932 Smith etal 82/2.7 1,270,023 8/1235 chroeder H 82/2.7

2,235,083 3/l94l Poole 82/2] 2,404,161 7/l946 Bower 82/2.7 3,044,367 7/1962 Thiel 82/2.5 X

Primary Examiner-Leonidas Vlachos Attorney-George H. Riches ABSTRACT: A machine for automatically chamfen'ing the ends of pieces of wire, particularly the wire which is used in making such articles, for example, as wire dishracks for use in dish washing machines, etc. The machine is operated by pressurized fluid such as air. It employs a piston actuated pusher which feeds pieces of substantially straight wire, one-at-atime, into position where it is coaxial with a pair of spaced apart bits carried by conventional air motors which are reciprocated back and forth to chamfer the wire ends. Valve means actuated by pulsators and also by the reciprocating pusher and air motors carry out the sequence of moving the wireinto position, chamferring and releasing the wire and then repeating the operation.

Patented Aug. 10, 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 AHorney Patented Aug. 10, 1971 3,598,004

4 Sheets-Shoot lnven ror John E. Hopkins B 170 AHorney Patented Aug. 10, 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 lnvenror John E Hopkins e A 24% A++orney Patented Aug. 10, 1971 3,598,004

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Pulsaror Compressor lnvenror John E. Hopkins AUTOMATIC MACHINE FOR CHAMFERRING WIRE ROD ENDS A supply of wires is contained in a bin which feeds them oneat-a-time to the pusher which moves such piece into the coaxial position. A vibrator is attached to the bin to keep wires loose and aid in the feeding of the wires therefrom.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the manufacture of products and articles from wire such as shopping carts, cases, etc. it is essential that the exposed ends of the individual wire strands be chamfered to avoid, in particular, injury to persons, by scratching, who may come in contact with the exposed ends. At the present time, because of the unavailability of a simple machine on the market, the chamfering has for the most part been done by hand. In this step, the ends of the wire are placed against a grinding wheel or introduced into a chamfering bit for the purpose of chamfering the end of the wire. This is a slow and expensive way in which to effect the chamfering of the wirev The present machine which will be hereinafter described is constructed so that it is operated by a fluid under pressure such as compressed air and is fully automatic.

The automatic machine of the present invention for simul taneously chamfering opposite ends of a straight piece of wire comprises:

a. a supporting base;

b. a pair of fluid power driven chamfering bits in spaced apart coaxial relationship;

c. a pair of coaxial reciprocatable members mounted on said base, said members having reciprocating movement, in unison, towards and away from each other; each member being adapted to'carry one of the chamfering bits, the pair of bits being arranged coaxially to each other with their chamfering edges facing each other in spaced apart relationship;

cl. a wire feed plate between said reciprocatable members including a stop positioned to stop a piece of the wire at a position in which the wire is coaxial with the chamfering bits;

e. a piston actuated reciprocating pusher carried by said feed plate for moving said wire into said coaxial position and clamping said wire against said stop position on its forward movement;

a storage bin for containing a supply of said wires and having means feeding said wire pieces one-at-a-time to said feed plate whereby at each stroke of the pusher a wire is moved into the coaxial position;

g. a continuous vibrator connected with the bin;

h. a pressure fluid actuated motor rotating said bits and reciprocating said reciprocatable members and said reciprocating pusher in timed sequential relationship;

. fluid conduits communicating with a source of pressured fluid and a piston-cylinder device connected respectively to each of said pushers and said motors; and

j. valve means in said conduits and means actuating said valves in timed sequence, whereby wire pieces are moved one-at-a-time into the coaxial position and the bits are moved into position to chamfer the wire and then retract to release the wire and then repeat the operation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION For an understanding of the construction and operation of the machine constructed in accordance with this invention reference is to be had to the following description in which:

FIG I is a perspective view of'the machine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the machine shown in FIG. I as indicated by the line 2-2 of FIG, 3 and showing the pusher in its rear position;

FIG. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a crosssectional plan view as indicated by the line the wire piece moved forward to the chamfering position;

FIG. 5 is a cross section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the conduit system and valve arrangement which controls the operation of the machine.

The machine illustrated in FIGS. I to 5 comprises an essentially T-shaped frame generally denoted by the letter A having a main portion 10 with a rearwardly extending portion I] at right angles to the main portion and extending centrally therefrom. The main portion 10 and the portion 11 are firmly connected together. The portions 10 and II carry the operating mechanism which will now be described with reference to the drawings.

The chamfering mechanism is mounted on the main portion 10 and consists essentially of a pair of air motors l2, l3 and are mounted so that their axis of rotation is at right angles to the rearwardly extending portion 1]. The motors are sup ported on or by blocks I4, 15. Each air motor I2, I3 is provided with a piston rod 16, I7 respectively with their extending ends having mounted thereon chucks l8, 19 respectively which in turn carry c amfering bits 20, 21. Mounted between the chamfering bits is a rod guide and holding device generally indicated by the letter B which will be described in detail later,

The storage bin for containing a supply ofthe wire and feeding the wire, one-at-a-time to the pusher is generally indicated by the letter C.

The bin C is supported on the portion I1 and includes a compartment 22 which has its bottom 23 sloping downwardly towards the front of the machine and a vertical feed slot 24 formed at each side of the front end of the compartment 22 by vertical bars 25, 26. The slots 24 are just wide enough to permit a single row of wires 27 to feed downwardly by gravity. Mounted on the portion 11 is a pusher 28 which is reciprocated forward and backward from the positions shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 by a piston rod 29 which operates in cylinder 30, the cylinder being supported by block 31A. The

forward end of the pusher 28 is undercut as indicated at 31, the undercut being the depth of the diameter of a single wire. The purpose of the undercut is to permit the pusher to move one wire forward, with the remaining wires held against downward movement by the top surface 32 of the pusher. The

' vertical bars 25 are level with the top surface 32 so as not to interfere with the forward movement of the lowermost rod when it is captured by the pusher. There is mounted on the bin C a vibrator D which keeps the wires in motion so that they will feed properly.

The guide and clamping block B has the end which faces the pusher 28 provided with an undercut 33 into which the extending portion 34 of the pusher 28 enters when in its forward position. The undercut portion 33 results in an extension 35 which is aligned so as to enter the undercut 31 of the pusher 28. The extension 35 terminates at a position so that when the pusher 28 is moved to the forward position shown in FIG. 5 the wire 27 which has been captured in the undercut portion 31 is clamped firmly in a position coaxially with the chamfering bits 20, 2I. That clamping effect together with the fact that during the chamfering, the bits 20, 2-1 will be rotating in op posite directions relative to the wire rod 28 prevent rotation of the rod 28.

To further restrain the wire 28 against movement during the chamfering operation, a pair of arms 36, 37 are pivotally connected to the front end of the block as indicated at 38, 39. The arms extend rearwardly to about the slots 24. Adjacent the inside end of the arms 36, 37 the underface is bevelled as indicated at 40 in FIG. 3, this bevelling easing the arms over the wire 27 when it is being moved from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. 5. The arms bear against and hold the wire 28 down during the chamfering.

OPERATION OF THE MACHINE The air motors l2, 13, together with the piston rods l6, l7 and chucks 18, 19 are of conventional construction wherein the air motor is driven by compressed air and are designed so that the compressed air will first actuate the piston to move the chucks with their chamfering bits into the chamfering position shown in FIG. 1 and when they reach that position the compressed air will then drive the motor to rapidly rotate the assembly consisting of the piston rods, chuck and bit. When the chamfering is completed the assembly is returned by a spring action to the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As soon as the chamfering bits are retracted to the position shown in H68. 2 and 3 the pusher is actuated to its forward position during which movement it picks up the wire 27 and moves it into the chamfering position at which time the chamfering bits are actuated into engagement with the ends of the wire to perform a chamfering operation. As soon as the chamfering is completed the air to the motors and piston rods [6, I7 is shut off and the chucks retracted by the spring action. In doing so the piece of wire that has been chamfered drops into the container 4! immediately therebelow and the pusher retracts so that the machine can repeat the charnlering operation.

The valve arrangement and conduit system by which the automatic and continuous chamfering of the ends of wire pieces is accomplished is diagrammatically disclosed in FIG. 6.

Compressed air is supplied to the mechanism by means of a compressor 42, the compressor being connected to the several parts of the machine through a main feedline 43. The pusher 28 is actuated, in both directions, by compressed air and con sequently the cylinder 30 is connected to the main feedline 43 by branch line 44 which is divided into two subbranches 44a, 44!) by a four-way valve 45. In the position shown in FIG. 6, the valve is allowing compressed air to 'flow through the branch line 44 and subbranch line 44b to the cylinder 30. The manner in which the valve is actuated to close the branch line 44b and open the branch line 44a will be described later.

Air is supplied to the air cylinders 46, 47 of the air motors through branch lines 48, 49. The admission of air thereto being controlled by slide valves 50, 51. A branch line 52 con nects each of the valves 50, 51 to a three-way tripper pulsator valve 53 which has its opposite port connected to the main feedline 43 by a branch line 54 which branch line is also connected to the four-way valve 45 with a tripper valve 55 inserted in the line between the valve 53 and the valve 45. The valves 53 and 55 are actuated by the piston rod 29 of the pusher 28 in the manner to be described.

A bypass conduit 56 is connected into the branch line 43 between the vibrator D and the junction of the branch line 48 with the main feedline 43 and has its other end connected to the four-way valve 45. inserted in the line 56 are valves 57 and 58 which are actuated by fingers 59, 60 carried on a reciprocating part of the air motor. Inserted in the line between the valve 58 and the valve 45 is a pulsator 6].

In the position illustrated in FIG. 6, the piston 62 is shown at the end of the feed stroke in which position the pusher has placed the wire piece 27 coaxially with the chamfering bits 20, 21 which is the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. it will be seen that the rod 29 carries a finger 63 which as it passes the valve 53 actuates the same to give a pulse of air which pulse will be transmitted through the branch line 52 to the valves 50, SI respectively. That pulse will move the valve mechanism to open the line into the cylinders 46, 47 so as to actuate and drive the air motors l2, 13 to perform the chamfering operation.

When the air motors have moved into the chamfering position they are each provided with fingers 64, 65 which actuate the valve mechanism 50, S] to thereby shut off the air supply to the air motors l2, 13 which then automatically retract under the influence of the springs 66, 67. When fully retracted the fingers 59, 60 actuate the valves 57, 58 to apply a pulse of air to the pulsator 61 which automatically actuates the valve 45 to close the ort which leads to the conduit 44!) and opens the conduit 4 a to permit air to be introduced into the cylinder 30 to retract the pusher. As the pusher reaches its fully retracted position, the finger 63 actuates the valve 55 which thereupon introduces air into the valve 45 to reverse the position of the valve mechanism to reopen the conduit 44!;

and close the conduit 44a to initiate the next stroke.

The foregoing describes a preferred embodiment of my invention and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is susceptible to modification without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

iclaim:

1. An automatic machine for simultaneously chamfering opposite ends of a straight wire comprising:

a. a supporting base;

.b. a pair of fluid power driven chamfering bits in spaced apart coaxial relationship;

c. a pair of fluid actuated coaxial rcciprocatable members mounted on said base, said members having reciprocating movement, in unison, towards and away from each other; each member being adapted to carry one of the chamfer' ing hits, the pair of bits being arranged coaxially to each other with their chamfering edges facing each other in spaced-apart relationship;

d. a wire feed plate between said rcciprocatable members, including a stop positioned to stop a piece of the wire at a position in which the wire is coaxial with the chamfering bits;

. a storage bin for containing a supply of said wires and having means feeding said wire pieces one-at-a-time to said feed plate whereby at each stroke of the pusher a wire is moved into the coaxial position a pair of spaced-apart horizontal arms pivotably mounted on said feed plate with their free ends adjacent the wire feeding means, said free ends cooperating with said feed plate to block all but the lowermost wire;

g. a piston actuated reciprocating pusher carried by said feed plate for moving said lowermost wire into said coaxial position and clamping said wire against said stop position on its forward movement;

. a continuous vibrator connected with the bin;

I. a pressure fluid actuated motor rotating the bits in opposite directions relative to said wire and reciprocating said rcciprocatable members and said reciprocating pusher in timed sequential relationship;

j. fluid conduits communicating with a source of pressured fluid and a piston-cylinder device connected respectively to each of said pushers and said motors; and

k. valve means in said conduits and means actuating said valves in sequence, whereby wire pieces are moved one at-a-time into the coaxial position and the bits are moved into position to chamfer the wire and then retract to release the wire and then repeat the operation.

2. A machine according to claim I in which the valve means includes a first pulsator valve means actuated by said pusher on its forward movement to actuate the other of said valves to supply fluid pressure to said motor to move the bits into engagement with the wire ends, and second pulsator valve means in said conduit and means responsive to the reciprocation of said motors to alternately supply fluid pressure to the piston of the pusher to selectively reciprocate the pusher to feed wire to the coaxial position. 

1. An automatic machine for simultaneously chamfering opposite ends of a straight wire comprising: a. a supporting base; b. a pair of fluid power driven chamfering bits in spaced apart coaxial relationship; c. a pair of fluid actuated coaxial reciprocatable members mounted on said base, said members having reciprocating movement, in unison, towards and away from each other; each member being adapted to carry one of the chamfering bits, the pair of bits being arranged coaxially to each other with their chamfering edges facing each other in spaced apart relationship; d. a wire feed plate between said reciprocatable members, including a stop positioned to stop a piece of the wire at a position in which the wire is coaxial with the chamfering bits; e. a storage bin for containing a supply of said wires and having means feeding said wire pieces one-at-a-time to said feed plate whereby at each stroke of the pusher a wire is moved into the coaxial position f. a pair of spaced apart horizontal arms pivotably mounted on said feed plate with their free ends adjacent the wire feeding means, said free ends cooperating with said feed plate to block all but the lowermost wire; g. a piston actuated reciprocating pusher carried by said feed plate for moving said lowermost wire into said coaxial position and clamping said wire against said stop position on its forward movement; h. a continuous vibrator connected with the bin; i. a pressure fluid actuated motor rotating the bits in opposite directions relative to said wire and reciprocating said reciprocatable members and said reciprocating pusher in timed sequential relationship; j. fluid conduits communicating with a source of pressured fluid and a piston-cylinder device connected respectively to each of said pushers and said motors; and k. valve means in said conduits and means actuating said valves in sequence, whereby wire pieces are moved one-at-a-time into the coaxial position and the bits are moved into position to chamfer the wire and then retract to release the wire and then repeat the operation.
 2. A machine according to claim 1 in which the valve means includes a first pulsator valve means actuated by said pusher on its forward Movement to actuate the other of said valves to supply fluid pressure to said motor to move the bits into engagement with the wire ends, and second pulsator valve means in said conduit and means responsive to the reciprocation of said motors to alternately supply fluid pressure to the piston of the pusher to selectively reciprocate the pusher to feed wire to the coaxial position. 